Near East

Topographic map of parts of the Near East The Near East is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and occasionally the Balkans. The term was coined in the 19th century by modern Western geographers and was originally applied to the Ottoman Empire, but today has varying definitions within different academic circles. The term Near East was used to refer to the part of the Orient nearest to Europe, as opposed to the Middle East (then comprising the lands between the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia) and the Far East (East Asia and beyond), together known as the "three Easts"; it was a separate term from the Middle East during earlier times and official British usage. As of 2024, both terms are used interchangeably by politicians and news reporters to refer to the same region. Near East, Middle East, and Far East are all Eurocentric terms.

According to the National Geographic Society, the terms Near East and Middle East denote the same territories and are "generally accepted as comprising the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian territories, Syria, and Turkey".